The Confidence is the Balaclava
by ParanoidAndroid01
Summary: After a hard break up with her lesbian partner, Bella Swan can just barely keep her life in order. If it wasn't for her best friend Edward, that is. Oh, and his undying love for her. AH/OOC/Rated M for MEGA SMUT!
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: **Good morning/afternoon/evening/night, and welcome to The Confidence is the Balaclava. First shot, first story, first time after a while of musing to get off my ass and finally write this motherfucker. I ship Edward/Bella in the end no matter what, so yes, this will eventually be an Edward/Bella story. Keep that in mind. Enjoy your read, and don't forget to leave me at least a little love? (-:

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight. I just really like fucking with the characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter I <strong>

_**June 30**__**th**__**, 2001… **_

"Stop moping and just man the fuck up and go talk to her," I heard a booming voice behind me, along with a hard slap on my back. My eyes prickled lightly at the unwelcoming feeling at the meaty hand that belonged no other to the fucker named Emmett McCarty. I looked up at him and silently pushed up my thick framed glasses up my nose. _Fucker… _

A low sigh shot through my lips as I looked back to the object of my desire. _Isabella Swan. _Even her name sounded so pretty. Mind you, she was a lot more than just 'pretty.' Isabella was gorgeous. She was smart – graduating with top marks and with a full scholarship to Northwestern University. _God, it just made her so much more sexier. _She was beautiful, having a classic look that was hard not to love. Creamy milky skin that wasn't bruised or marked, naturally wavy brown hair that reached the middle of her back and the most gorgeous brown eyes that had flecks of amber in them when she looked into the sun. _Yeah, so I had looked into her eyes more than once…_

To say that I fancied Isabella Swan was a huge understatement. Maybe if I wasn't so chicken shit, I'd come to terms with the fact that I was head over heels in love with her.

It appeared that everyone could see that.

Everyone except her.

Was I thankful for that? I wasn't too sure.

Now you see, the thing with Isabella and I was that we were great friends. Best friends in fact. We had been since we were in junior kindergarten together when she stood up for me after I was pushed into the sandpit like the pathetic little twat that I could be at times. From that point on, Bella – as she liked to be called – and I were stuck together like glue. Fortunately, she was my next door neighbor in the small, dreary town that we were confined to by the name of Forks. This place sucked like fuck. At least Bella was always around to keep the excitement rolling.

In 7th grade, when I was about 13 years old, it really began to hit me just how much of a hot commodity Bella was. Guys in the grade above us sometimes approached us while her and I sat under our favorite tree during lunch time or recess time. It was tradition to have her read me one of her new books, and for me to take pictures with my crappy camera, sneakily taking some of her while she was really engrossed in her novel. One day, a young boy by the name of Tyler Crowley strolled over to us on one of Forks' rare sunny days. I should've known something was off the minute I saw a ray of sun that morning.

"Hey, Bella," he greeted to her lowly. My eyes immediately snapped to her and I saw that she had yet to look up to him. She was too busy reading.

"I said, hey Bella," Tyler pushed to her. My eyes were still trained on her form, clearly relaxed as if he wasn't even there. I stole a quick glance up at him and I could tell he was getting aggravated by her silence. I began to internally panic a little. "Are you fuckin' mute?" he suddenly said loudly, anger clearly displayed in his eyes.

I grew defensive.

Now, I wasn't big or lean or at least had a bit of muscle on me until I turned 18. Which I was still sorely lacking in that department. You could just imagine what I looked at 13 years old. Skinny, not too tall, shoulders slouched forward that my mother always complained about, ruddy hair and glasses that were too thick and too big for my face. There I was, the ant. And I was sizing up to the cockroach, Tyler.

"Don't talk to her like that," I whispered.

Tyler's eyes found mine and I could see the amusement dance in them. He scoffed and shook his head to one side, momentarily scaring me. _I could've sworn he was about snap his own neck… _I realized he was just trying to get his hair out of his eyes. I was a guy, but seriously, guys were fucking weird. "You want to start beef with me, Cullen? I don't fuckin' think so." He smirked and in a flash, leaned down to rip the book out of Bella's small hands. My eyes widened as I silently watched him rip the pages from the spine, smiling maliciously. The whole time I could do nothing but stare at him in shock and anger.

When he was through, he threw some paper shreds to my face, making me immediately flinch backwards from him. As he walked away, I literally snapped. No, seriously. I heard something snap. Or maybe that was the twig I just stepped on in my rush to get to him. "Hey!" I shouted as I ran to him. He turned around and with all the courage and strength I could muster in my manorexic body, I pulled my fist back and was about to connect it with his face.

Was, you hear that? Was.

He grabbed my twig like arm in his meaty one and laughed at me, throwing it down. _He _pulled his fist back and it immediately made friends with my bony jaw. I literally saw stars and I was flung to the floor, blinking rapidly and panting as I tried not to react to the blistering pain that shot through my entire face. I probably looked ridiculous. He leaned over my quivering form and just began to laugh in my face. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes as he just laughed above me. I was a failure. I was trying to act like a superhero when really, I was just as pathetic as the oaf laughing at me.

And then justice was _really _served.

Someone caught Tyler's attention, and in an instant, he was lying on the floor next to me, moaning and bitching in some kind of weird tongue. I looked up through my blurred eyes to see Bella now standing over him – same calm expression etched on her face, staring him down. My jaw popped open, despite the pain that was spreading.

"If you _ever _touch my books, much less rip one apart in front of my face, I will fuck you up. You hear me? And if you _ever _touch Edward again, I won't fuck you up. I will fuck you over," she said calmly. My eyebrows furrowed in mass confusion. Since when in fuck did 13 year old Bella swear? "Do you understand, _Tyler?_" she spat his name. I quickly stole a glance at him and realized he was holding his face with tears spilling over his cheeks and sputtered moans of pain out of his covered mouth. "Good. Glad we've come to an understanding."

She came over to me and held her hand open. My eyes widened in fear and awe. "Oh, calm down, Edward. I'm not going to hit you. Even though I should considering you were being such an idiot back there." I blushed and took her hand, yanking myself up and refusing to avoid her gaze. "But…," she started, "What you did back there was incredibly sweet, defending my honor and all." I looked down at her, startled out of my mind and saw her smile up at me. She stood up on her toes and leaned in, giving my cheek a really small peck. _God, she smells so fucking nice…_ She suddenly walked away, recess being over.

All I could think about was that I really needed to get her a new book. And soon.

That was possibly the first and last time I ever got involved with her and guys that held an interest to her. The thing with Bella was that not only was she extremely beautiful, but she was confident in her looks. She carried herself well and knew how she could affect people. She never hid behind her hair or behind baggy shirts and pants that were a few sizes too big on her. She was modest in how she dressed and she had an aura about her that was just hard to make you dislike her. You _had _to like Bella.

In this, she gained many suitors. I wasn't too taken with that, considering over the years, the feelings I had for her were in full bloom. Where I spent only a few minutes of my day thinking about her, it turned into hours. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into years. I could say that I loved Bella all my life, especially during my high school years. She was and will always be my best friend. The best friend that I fell in love with.

I was unsure whether to act upon these feelings or to just shoot it down and opt for the "stay friends and don't ruin a good relationship" road. I was leaning more towards the latter, in all honesty. Talking about my feelings with Bella, about Bella was bound to get really awkward. And when things get awkward, I _really _start to talk. In under no circumstance, did I want that to ever even happen.

Back to the present.

I looked back to the arm that was still on my back and glared at it. Emmett and I were not friends. We were… classmates. Him and I were paired together for our final project in the Spanish class that we shared. We had no choice. I was too smart for my own good and all he could say was "donde esta la policiera?"

I suppose we worked well together. If you counted the fact that he enjoyed eating out my entire fridge like no tomorrow which left me to work all on my own. I liked it that way. I could get the work done and not have to worry about his input on what I did. I wasn't really easy to work with when it came to partnered projects. I was extremely iffy and I needed everything to just be perfect. Call it one of my many OCD tendencies, whatever.

I also suppose that after I graced us both with a very nice 95 as a final mark, he felt the need to talk to me the few chances that he could. Emmett and I didn't run in the same crowd. He was the typical jock, playing whatever sport he could sign up to and I was… crafty. I enjoyed sitting back and taking pictures and developing them in my very own dark room that I created. I guess it was my driven passion, considering it was really what got me into Rochester. I was glad that I would finally be able to just go and study what it was that I loved the most – photography. My parents were a little disappointed that I wouldn't be following into my father's footsteps, which was to take upon the architecture firm that my great-great-grandfather had begun and passed it down to his son from generation to generation. I'd rather take pictures of buildings than actually build them.

"Do you mind taking your arm off me?" I said quietly, looking up to him and back to his hand. He let out a loud guffaw and removed his hand from me. I sighed and slouched. "Thanks," I mumbled, looking back to Bella once more and reaching in my pocket for the cigarettes I always held in there. I walked to the door and wrenched it open, feeling the cool June air linger.

I pulled a cigarette out and lit it, bringing it to my lips for small puffs. I wasn't addicted to it, it was just times like these where I really needed to just smoke one and let off a little stress. "Are you at least gonna tell her you wanna bang her?" I heard Emmett ask from behind me. I hadn't even realized he followed me. I rolled my eyes and puffed a few more and let the smoke out slowly.

"Fuck off, Emmett," I told him as sincerely as I could. He let out another laugh.

"C'mon dude. She's your childhood sweetheart, we all know it. It's just about damn time that you grow a pair and tell the girl how you feel," he reasoned. I blew my last puff and threw it to the ground, breathing the smoke out and snubbing it under my shoe.

"It won't work," I said stubbornly, running a hand through my messy hair. "She's going to Chicago, I'm going to New York. That's that."

"So then how are you going to continue being friends?"

"That's different," I said. "We'll call and text and email and she'll rape my Facebook wall like she always does. So does it really matter? We'll stay friends because it's how it's meant to _be._" I looked up to the sky and realized that aside from the girl inside, the clear stars at late night were probably the only thing I was going to miss of this place.

"You're so moody, why'd you even come to this party anyways?" Emmett joked lightly. I rolled my eyes and stuck my hands in my jean pockets.

"Right of passage, I suppose? That and Bella wanted me to go since she wanted to go and I wouldn't let her sneak out alone. What kind of friend would I be if I let her do that?"

"Right. _Friend._" I could feel his eyes rolling far back into his head. I secretly wished they'd stick there so he couldn't roll them back down. I huffed and turned around, darting around him to go right back into the chaos that I'd recently left.

There was a constant cheering and wolf calling going on in a corner of the living room. My eyes swept up what they could of the place, trying to find Bella to see if I could quietly convince her in leaving. I fished for my iPhone and read that it was only a little past midnight. Still too early. I shook my head and slowly walked towards the crowd cheering, pocketing my phone.

What I saw almost made me want to puke and shit blocks. At the same time.

There she was, the object of my affection, cramped into the corner of a wall with her arms wrapped around someone's neck and her hands tangled into the person's hair. Her lips were moving frantically against theirs and her eyes were closed, seeming completely content and at ease while kissing this stranger. As quickly as I could, I decided to look towards the stranger.

Correction. I wanted to puke, shit blocks and shove bamboo splinters up my nails. All at the same time.

There Bella was, tangled in the tone arms of Irina. Jesus, I didn't even knew they spoke. Now they were _kissing?_ I had to admit, it was a little erotic to watch but I mostly just felt uncomfortable. I was watching my best friend, the girl I loved, kiss another girl. How awkward, but kinda hot was that?

So there I was, a little past midnight, among the sea of people hollering and cheering as these two girls just went at it with their lips and tongues, one of those girls being the chick that I've loved since I was about 4. When they had finally broken apart for air, I immediately checked Bella's eyes to see if they were glassy, indicating that she was drunk. I was praying that she was, knowing that if she was, the kiss was just a mindless act of being drunk. I searched and searched. All I saw was lust and happiness.

As everyone began to dissipate, I walked towards her, still cautiously trying to see if she was drunk or worse – high. There was nothing off about her, so I decided to just go with the flow. "Bella?" I called cautiously.

Her head whipped around and she smiled largely at me, her cheeks tinged with crimson. "Oh, Edward! There you are! I was wondering where you had gone off to," she said.

_Yeah, I bet you were wondering, alright…, _I thought sourly.

"Do you mind just telling me what was that?" I looked towards Irina and watched her lazily smile at me. I didn't have anything against Irina, believe me. She was a cool chick, being a big as a bookworm and hard worker as Bella. She did run in a different circle, apart from Bella, but there were some days where her and Bella had lunch together, especially the days I could not due to working in the dark room in the school. This increased especially during the month of June but at the time, it didn't hold any interest of me. Now I was wondering…

She looked back to Irina momentarily and Irina just bobbed her head, smiling lightly. "If you're sure," she said softly, looking back to me and back to Bella. I saw Bella nod.

"I'm sure. I'll be back, 'kay?"

"Go on, I'll be here. I'll have to go find Tanya sooner or later," she giggled. Bella laughed along with her and pulled my hand as she wove through the sea of people to the very door that led to the backyard.

"It's really nice outside tonight," she said calmly as we walked around the perimeter of the backyard. Whosever's backyard this was, it was really spacious and nice and not very many people were in use of it. Which I enjoyed a lot.

"It is," I offered, "but it doesn't really help clarify what the hell just happened back there." I was a little…grumpy about it, to be honest. 14 years of knowing her and I rarely ever got as much as a cheek peck. Now a few months and one night she's making out with some girl.

She sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Alright, I don't really know how to even tell you this but here I go. Irina and I have been…secretly dating for the past two months. She asked me out in May and I said yes and up until tonight, we've kept everything about us on the DL. We didn't want to tell anyone, for fear that it'd get back to our parents or something and then we'd be the center of gossip until we left and we didn't want to have to leave with people looking down on us just because of a relationship," she rushed out. I was still on, "secretly dating." Wait, what?

"You're lesbian?" I blurted out.

Despite how I was feeling, she laughed. "Well, at first it was bi-curiosity. Then as I grew attracted to her it bloomed into bisexuality. But the more time I spend with her, I realized that maybe I'm neither. Because I still like guys, and I'm not really attracted to _girls. _I'm just attracted to her. So really, I can't base my sexuality off one person. I'm a straight girl who's dating a girl, and nothing more," she answered. My eyes were blinking rapidly, trying to wrap my head around everything she was saying. Bella? Bi-curious? Bisexual? Dating a girl? Huh?

"Wait… why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend," I came up with lamely, the hurt evident in my voice. She sighed and lolled her head back towards the sky, as if the stars would give her an answer for this pretty shitty situation. I mean come on… We _were _best friends, right?

"I didn't know what to do, Edward. Things were still pretty knew and I just knew it would be awkward with you until you could see that I was actually serious about this. I didn't intend –"

I cut her off, "So you think that me witnessing you kissing your secret girlfriend was going to clarify any of that? I thought you were drunk, Bella! I even went as far as thinking that someone slipped some E into your drink!" She sighed one more time and shut her eyes, as if she didn't want to hear what I had to say. I was pissed, to be honest. But I was hurt more. Here was the girl I loved, the one that I had been pining after for 14 years, just to have it all roundhouse kick me in the face with the knowledge of her dating a girl. What the fuck was that?

"I know it sounds bad, Edward. I'm sorry, but I was confused and I didn't want things back to get to anyone. I'm not saying you would have told, but anyone could've over heard and that would've spread like wildfire!" That was true. "I didn't know what to do or what to even say at the time, okay? I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for not just coming out and telling you two months ago. But you understand what I'm saying at least, don't you?" she came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist like she always did when she needed to be reassured that I wasn't upset with her. And when she was feeling lonely.

Instinctively, my arms wrapped around her small shoulders and trailed slowly down to her small hips. Everything about her was petite and I loved it. _Too bad it's all Irina's, _I added dryly. I basked in the feeling of Bella in my arms. She was warm and small and she fit oh so comfortably against me. I wondered for a real moment that if we were a real couple, would it always be like this? I could feel my heart strumming, sure and strong in my heart. It knew Bella. It liked Bella. All of my body liked Bella. My arms tightened around her hips and I lowered my nose and lightly smelled the cinnamon scent of her hair. A little spicy doused in sweet. It was intoxicating.

"You're forgiven," I whispered into her hair. I was still in my own world. _If she were mine… _

She looked up to me and I swore, in the moonlight I could see each individual speck of amber in her eyes as she peered to me. "Are you sure? Or are you just saying that because it's me?" she quirked her plump lips into a smile.

I laughed lowly. "Maybe a little bit of both. But I am sure, you're forgiven. I see where you come from," I said. _God, those lips… If only I could press mine to hers… _

"Love ya, Ed," she whispered to me. I smiled.

"Love you, too, Bell-Bell."

_Fuck, if only she were mine. I'm already hers. _

o~o~o~o~o~o

Walking back into the house served as a little bit awkward as I was with Bella and I already knew where she was heading to. Bella suddenly squealed and ran to none other than Irina. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and shout a "FUCK" to the wicked Gods.

Irina was a pretty girl. Nothing comparable to Bella, in my eyes, but she was pretty. She was naturally blonde, her hair a little more straighter than Bella's but still held the nice wave. Her skin was lightly tanned, surprising considering the fact that there was barely ever any sun but I'd chalk it up to be a natural tan after a while of speculation. Her eyes were a rare shade of turquoise with brown surrounding it. I also chalked up that she was not wearing contacts and the eye color was indeed real. She was tall, standing at around 5'9 with a lean and toned body. She towered over Bella's tiny 5'3 frame but that didn't fool me. She was calmer where Bella was in her normal spit fire mood.

What made things more incredibly weird was that… Irina actually seemed like she cared so much for Bella. Clearly more than the 'friendly' way. When Bella wanted something, Irina would dash to get it for her. She'd wrap her arms around Bella protectively and she'd hold her gingerly as if she were the finest china. She was pretty much doing everything I couldn't.

It pissed me the fuck off.

At around 3 in the morning, we decided to just finally ditch and hang out in the bed of Bella's truck before heading home later in the morning. Tanya, Irina's cousin joined us. Normally I wouldn't mind but Tanya kept trying to cop a feel on me, which just pissed me off further because the two female lovebirds took this as an opportunity to indulge on this 'private time.' I was left with a small show of soft core lesbian porn and a hussy that wouldn't quit. After about half an hour, I decided it was my cue to leave.

Cigarette lodged between my lips, I almost bolted for my beloved car. Once I got in, I lit the cigarette, smoked a few puffs and put the key into the ignition, bringing the car to life. As I was peeling out, I saw Bella's face _still _attached to Irina's.

So I honked my damn horn.

The unwelcome noise made them jerk frightfully away from one another. I snickered as I drove by, smoking my cigarette and bobbing my head to the song currently playing in my car.

_What? _

I merely thought they needed air.

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><p><strong>An: **You know, for the first chapter I don't think I actually did half bad. Especially since I'm my own beta for the time being and it's currently 7:30am. So, what do you guys think? Alright, I'll bargain with you. Give me 12 reviews or more and I'll update another chapter as quick as possible. 12 reviews isn't so bad! Especially for the whopping 4,000 words I just barfed out. Again, I really like constructive criticism. So even if it's just a review telling me on what to work on, that's still good. Lemme have it, people I'm ready. (-:

Till next time!

-Sunny


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: **While I didn't expect any reviews at all, I'm actually very happy with the few that I got, along with the favorites and alerts! I'm glad that most of you are enjoying this story. Things have been a little hectic at the moment, as I am dealing with school and my upcoming piano exam that I'm being tested on soon. So without further ado, I present to you the next installment of this soon to be crazy story.

**Chapter song: **_My Love by Sia _

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Twilight._

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><p><strong>Chapter II<strong>

**August 2011… **

"So are you ready for tonight?" my best friend and agent, Jasper, asked me. I looked up from my newest piece of art to him. He smiled.

"I'm not really sure. After my whole hiatus, I kind of forgot the whole adrenaline of auctions. I'm kind of nervous," I said, chuckling anxiously. He laughed.

"You don't need to worry, man. These are honestly a few of your best pieces. I'm actually kind of shocked, considering it's so out of your element." He gazed once more at the photograph that rested on the crème walls. I looked with him, taking in all the colors and shapes and the movement of the piece.

"I agree with you. We'll do good tonight." And with that, my anxiety had vanished and I was now calm.

I really owed all of this, my fame and career, to Jasper. Before he was my agent, and before I was a famous photographer, he was just a custodian and I was a college graduate with almost nothing to my name. It was over stale beer and drunken promises that Jasper had promised me he would make something out of me, and out of himself. I was grateful for everything he had done to get both of us to the top.

After I had graduated college with a bachelors in photography and a few other degrees in certain languages, it had really began to sink in that I may not be going anywhere. Maybe my father _was _right. Maybe I should've just taken the safer route and taken up architecture where I could be guaranteed a job and not have to worry how I was going to pay all my bills. Maybe I shouldn't have been so ambitious, believing that I could create career out of passion. It was at this lowest point in my life that I had met Jasper one late night in a quiet bar.

He of course, was drunk. And seeing as he had no one, not even the excuse of a girlfriend, he felt compelled to tell me all of his troubles in his drunken stupor. How he was forever broke, cleaning shitty bathrooms and had nothing to his name. So of course, hearing him bitch and complain about his life made _me _start to bitch and complain about my life. It was at that moment that Jasper had promised me things would be different soon. Him and I would get to the very top, and laugh at all the fuckers beneath us.

He was true to his word, at most.

Once I became more popular within galleries and people began buying my photographs, I had a number of big shots requesting me to be taken under their wing. Of course, these were the same big shots that never gave me a chance when I needed one so many months ago before Jasper.

It wasn't easy getting to the top, especially with photography. While it was true most photographers could see and capture things the human eye could easily miss, inspiration was difficult to come across at first. There were days where I would spend hours in Central Park, memorizing and committing to memory the texture of leaves, the many shades of green interwoven with grass, the connectedness everything had. The way the grass and flowers were like a blanket to the dirt, and the way everything was just in harmony with one another. It was even more difficult trying to capture it in picture. I struggled, a lot. But after a while, everything just came natural.

About four months ago I took a leave of hiatus to deal with more personal matters. Photography was a demanding career most of the time and I rarely had a time where I could just sit back and relax. So with the huge lump sum of money that I had acquired in my bank, I rented out a beach house in the Bahamas and stayed there for a while. Relaxing on the beach, exploring the wild life and nature, and especially the different culture and people.

It was true that my want for a hiatus had to deal with me being lonely. When I was in high school, I was more gangly looking, awkward even. But as years progressed, I bulked up a little more. I lost the reading glasses and grew facial hair that drove most women insane. My occasional messy hair proved to be a good asset and while I tried not to let my ego get to me, I knew I was good looking.

But that never settled the loneliness that I occasionally felt.

In such a place like New York, I was able to prove it difficult to find a suitable girlfriend. While most women were nice, and I wasn't ever too picky, I could never feel the connection that I so craved. I could never feel my world shifting or stopping, my heart skipping a beat or two. There was only one woman who made me feel that way and the last time I had spoken with her was about half a year ago.

While Bella and I still valued our friendship, it was really difficult for us to stay in touch a lot. I was working almost every day of the week, and travelling a lot. And she… well she was now a chemist that spent her time in a laboratory more than she spent time in the real world. I was proud of Bella. Chemistry was always her thing, she was always able to see the beauty in the connection between two chemicals, kind like they were telling her stories.

I won't lie and say things weren't awkward after the graduation party, after I had learned of her relationship with Irina. I believed they were actually still in a relationship to this very day. I was happy for them, happy for her. The few times we spoke on the phone and she spoke about Irina, I could hear the love and adoration she felt for her. That always brought on the jealousy. I tried my best to contain the jealousy, but it always hurt, hearing about them and how happy they were. And then there was just me – twenty nine years old, lonely photographer with a non-existent love life.

I did my best with my hectic schedule to keep up with Bella over the years. But it all proved too difficult. So we would send emails here and there, full of empty promises to call often when neither of us ever did. I was okay though. Not happy, but just okay. I could deal with okay.

"Edward, this photograph is absolutely beautiful!" I heard a high voice chirp in front of me, bringing me back to reality. I looked down and met ice blue eyes. Alice, Jasper's crazy wife.

I smiled down at her and lightly ruffled her pixie like hair. She squeaked and slapped my hand away, trying to smooth down the mess I created. Alice was a cool chick. While she was a little bit more erratic and seemed to always be high off caffeine, she was a loyal friend and surprisingly, a good cook.

Alice had met Jasper a year after he became my agent at one of my auctions. She was there with her family, and the minute they set eyes on one another, they were goners. Their marriage was only to be expected, and now they were happily married, with their first baby, a boy, on the way. I guess I owed it to the baby too. Her pregnancy had made her a lot calmer, and made her take up a desire for cooking since prior, neither her nor Jasper could cook.

"How's my nephew doing in there?" I asked her.

She sighed and patted her stomach. "Pretty good, but he's keeping me up at night. I think he's getting a little excited in there as the due date is looming closer and closer. Ugh," she said, shuddering slightly. My eyebrows crinkled.

"I thought you were excited," I told her.

"I am, believe me, I am. But what I'm not looking forward is being in labor for God knows how long. Jazz!" she screeched. Startled, he looked over to her and raised an eyebrow in question. "You better start working out those arm muscles because Lord knows you'll need the strength while your son is being born."

He looked at her in fear while I laughed at his expression. "Good luck," I said, still laughing.

"You're still going to help with our baby book, right Ed?" Alice asked.

"Of course. I'm not stepping anywhere near your hospital room until after the baby is born, just for the record. I'd probably pass out or something."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just be glad you're not the one going through it. We just finished the nursery last weekend, so if you could drop by sometime this week and take a few pictures of the room, that would be great too. Other than that, all we can really do is wait two more weeks," she said, patting and rubbing her stomach once more.

"No big, just give me a time and I'll be there. Look, I gotta jet, this whole thing is going to be starting soon and I have to be in the foyer to greet the guests and stuff. Jazz, I'll see you around auction time?" I asked, looking at him. He wrapped an arm around Alice's shoulders, brining her closer to him.

"Sure. I'll come find you a few minutes before it all starts just so we can set a few more things up as final touches. Other than that, have a fun time tonight. We know you'll do absolutely great," he said. I gave them both a smile and nodded.

"Alright, see you guys later then." I looked down at Alice's stomach and gave it a gentle rub. "Bye, baby," I cooed softly. Alice scoffed and I chuckled.

"Get outta here!" she joked. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going, I'm going!"

As I entered the front foyer of the banquet hall, I began to notice just how many people were here tonight. It kind of staggered me, the amount of people here ranging from different ages and genders. Some people gave me a respected nod, a small greeting and before I had even gotten to the front doors, I had said hello to a huge number of people.

As I got to the doors, I said a small speech, thanking everyone for being able to be here tonight and hoping that they enjoyed themselves. With a round of applause, I opened the door let everyone file in slowly. When I saw that everyone had walked in, I let security stand by the door and began my laps around the room, observing people's reactions as they looked at my art. For the most part, everyone was satisfied. I was proud of myself – geeky Edward had finally made a name for himself, and he was doing something that he loved.

"Mr. Cullen?" I heard a soft, timid voice behind me.

I turned around and made contact with a petite blonde, holding a slip of paper and a pen in her hand, staring at me gleefully. She was cute, probably only reaching the middle of my chest, and she had long blonde hair that reached all the way to her hips in gentle waves. Her features were delicate, with a small pink bow for lips and she had a sparkling pair of ocean blue eyes. All in all, a very pretty girl. I smiled at her.

"I know it's a bit early in the night, but I really couldn't contain my excitement. See, it's been my dream to come to one of your auctions, much less to even see your pictures in person considering I don't even have the money to pay for your cheapest photo. I was wondering if I could get your autograph," she requested quietly.

"Of course, it's not a problem at all. I'm glad you came tonight, considering that I base some of my success off my fans too." She handed me the slip of paper and pen. "Who am I making this out to?"

"Charmaine. Charmaine Tanner," she responded. Her face broke out into a small smile as she watched me sign the paper out to her. I gave it back to her, along with the pen. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much Mr. Cullen. This really means the world to me," she said, biting her lip.

I stared at the way her pearly white teeth bit softly into the flesh of her lips. Memories of how Bella always did that when she was nervous or conflicted tortured my head. _Her lips were so beautiful. _

"Not a problem, Charmaine. And please, call me Edward," I told her, my mind now clouded with images of Bella's mouth and a wanting that would not cease. "Have a lovely night, Charmaine." Without hearing her response, I turned from her and made a beeline towards the open bar, immediately ordering a rum with coke. The bar tender brought me back my drink and I drank it religiously, signing autographs when I needed to, and making small talk with some older citizens about my photography. Before I had noticed it, I had gone through three drinks. In that moment, Jasper appeared by my side, telling me we had to get on stage to begin the auction.

We quickly assessed everything, making sure everything was in proper order and we were ready to begin. Jasper handed me a microphone and patted my shoulder, a sign of good luck.

I walked out as someone announced my name and was suddenly met with many eyes. I took a deep breath and began my brief story of how everything came to be up until this very moment. I spoke about how I thought of myself as a failure after college, and how good friends and art were both my inspiration to just get back on my feet and to keep pursuing my passion. I talked about how it was hard to weave passion and career together, especially with a demanding and hard career like being a photographer where you had to work your way to the top. Near the end of my speech, I wished everyone good luck in bidding and with that, I was pretty much done for the night. I let out a huge gush of air as I walked to stand beside Jasper, the applause only faint background noise to my ears.

"You did great, E. We'll do good for prices, especially with this auction's editions," Jasper told me as I stood beside him. I nodded and smiled, handing him the microphone and letting him begin the auction.

Throughout the entire time, all I could hear were faint echoes of large sums of money being shouted through the entire room. Prices ranged from $70,000 to $100,000 and more. I didn't really pay attention when it came to listening to prices. I was happy just doing something that I loved and that people were loving it too.

When it came to the final photograph, I began to pay attention. This piece was older, much, much older. And I mean high school old.

Jasper and I had argued endlessly over selling it and keeping it. I wanted to keep it for many sentimental reasons, and Jasper...well, he wanted to sell it because he thought the profit for it would be off the wall and it was quite possibly one of my best photographs. In the end, I agreed to let it be sold, reluctantly, of course.

During my high school years, it was common for Bella to be my model. She never minded of course, always telling me I was making her out to be more beautiful than she actually was. While Bella did think of herself as a beautiful girl, it was apparent that she did stick out from most girls. Bella cut her hair herself, burned more than tanned so she stayed out of the sun, and only wore make up for those special occasions. Even then, it was minimal. She had a natural beauty about her, from her face, to her neck, to her shoulders, to her curves – that I just craved to capture in my pictures.

This photograph was one of her that I had taken and enlarged, minimal editing just to make sure it maintained its clarity. _The Importance of Curves _was by far my favorite picture I've ever taken of Bella, not because I _had _realized the importance of curves, but that I had realized it within Bella.

It showcased her, with her head to her side and her long brown hair being swept to the side, as well. You couldn't see her eyes, only the side of cheek and the profile of her nose. Her neck, long, elegant and strong dipped down her shoulders, connected to her slender arms and hands that gripped the top of her jeans. Her waist, curving beautiful to her hips and her legs made you realize that there _was _an importance to curves. Curves allowed a woman's body to ease from one place to another. Bella's body was a beautiful representation of that.

The photo was simple in color. Just a regular black and white photo, shaded in all the right places. All in all, it was a very simple picture. Just a beautiful girl wearing jeans and a shirt revealing many secrets to the world through the dips in her body. But there was something that was portrayed in the photo, something that just made you love it. Kind of like with Bella. You either loved Bella, or you hated her. And you just _couldn't_ hate Bella because you _had _to love her.

Immediately, there were bids ranging between $250,000 and $300,000. Just as it was about to go to the man who bid $300,000, a soft, yet clear, feminine voice stopped it. And as she spoke, I knew who it was.

"$500,000," she said. My eyes scanned the room quickly, looking for her, searching for her. I had to do a double take when I had found her. The years had clearly been good to Bella. No, not good. Fucking amazing.

There she was, in her angelic glory. Decked out in a royal blue dress that hit the floor, and wrapping around only one creamy shoulder, it tightened around her waist, showing off her figure and expanded. Her beautiful brown hair was twisted into a classy bun, small curls framing her gorgeous face. Her brown eyes were alight with humor and excitement, her plush lips twisted into an amused smirk. I could feel my heart skipping a few beats as I looked at her, taking her all in.

Bella always was a beautiful looking girl. But now, here before me in this room, was an extraordinarily gorgeous woman. And for a moment I felt a pang of pain. In my eyes, Bella was the most wondrous woman in the world. Why would she ever go for someone like me? Her nerdy best friend who pined after her for so many years?

As she stared into my eyes, I barely registered Jasper selling the picture to her, since no one was able to top her bid. I also faintly registered that Bella, my best friend and the love of my life, was here and had bought one of my photos, albeit a photo of her.

Once the auction was finished, I ran as quickly as I could to greet her. She was still in the same spot, same lazy smile on her face. I noticed in her hands she held a small clutch. Not much had changed physically about Bella, except for maybe that she was about an inch taller. But I bet it was because of her shoes.

Barely able to control myself, I picked her up into my arms and held her tight to my chest. She laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me close. "Oh, Edward," I heard her whisper while her nose was in my hair. "I've missed you so much." I closed my eyes and just reveled in the moment; her being here, in my arms after so much time and awkwardness was put between us.

After I had composed myself, I set her down to her feet but still held her close. "You're actually here!" was all I could say. She smiled.

"Of course I'm here. You didn't think I'd miss your returning auction for the world, did you?" she asked me. I shook my head. "Besides…," she now said quietly, "I've missed my best friend. I'm going through some… changes… and what better person to experience these changes but with my best friend." I noticed the sad smile on her face and wondered what kind of changes she was going through. But I knew that the auction was no place to talk about this.

"Hey, stay at my place tonight? Seriously, it'll be like old times when you came over and we slept in the same bed. Unless of course Irina is here with you," I offered. I quickly looked down at her and registered the pained mask that came when I said Irina's name. I immediately knew something wasn't right.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. Follow me to my hotel after so I can take my things and check out?" she asked.

"Definitely. Just let me say good bye to some people and then we can go. In the mean time, go on and collect your photo while I go back to some serious ass kissing," I said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked, somewhat. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes and I began to really wonder what was going on. She nodded and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before she left.

"It's great to see you, Ed. I've missed you a lot," she said, before turning around and meeting up with Jasper to collect her photograph.

I could still feel the tingles in my cheek from where she kissed me.

A little disoriented, I turned around and began saying my rounds of good-byes to the people who showed up, thanking them and promising them that I'd be holding another auction soon. Once I was done exchanging pleasantries, and when the place had cleared out some, I met up with Bella who was holding her photograph.

She smiled and looked down at it. "I've always wondered how you made me out to be so beautiful, Edward. It's amazing," she whispered. I wrapped an arm around her and took the photo from her so she wouldn't have to carry it back all the way to her hotel room.

"Yeah, says the world's most beautiful woman," I said, chuckling. She swatted my side and we began walking to the foyer.

"Edward! Oh my goodness, you should see all the money you made tonight! Did you see the last bid? $500,000!" Alice screeched while trying to contain her excitement. I smiled at her, waiting until she calmed a bit. She immediately took note of Bella and her eyes crinkled in confusion. "Since when did you get a girlfriend and not tell me, Edward Cullen?" she asked, hurt weaving into her voice.

Bella laughed. "I'm not his girlfriend, I'm the one who paid the $500,000 for the photo," she responded to Alice's question. Her eyes widened and she looked back and forth between Bella and I.

"Alice, this is Bella. My best friend and she was actually the model for this photo," I briefly explained. Bella looked up at me and smiled.

"Oh, wow! Well you're just absolutely gorgeous! I could've sworn for a moment you two were dating…," Alice muttered, making my cheeks flush pink and Bella laugh.

Jasper chose that moment to appear, and I introduced him to Bella, giving him the same story I gave Alice. While Bella and Alice conversed, Jasper gave me a re-run of how much we had made that night, impressing me, considering I had just came back from a short hiatus. He told me he would cash all the cheques and transfer them to my account as soon as he could. I told him not to worry, that I was in no rush.

It was just about midnight when Bella and I departed from the banquet. She now had one hand wrapped around the crease of my arm while my other hand held her photograph. She gave me a re-run of what had happened while she was in university, all the work that she had to do, but how much fun it was. She was now working as a pharmaceutical chemist, which, although demanding, was fun.

"Sometimes I wonder why I didn't aspire to become a chemist teacher. I mean, I've always loved kids and teaching, but at the time it didn't really seem like an option. I'm happy with my job though," she said convincingly. I wondered if she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince me.

We made it to her hotel and in no time, she was able to check out with her luggage by her side. I tried telling her to stay in the hotel while I walked back to the banquet hall to get my car, but she said it didn't bother her and that she really liked the summery air.

As we walked back, I tried to think of a way to bring up Irina. Although I wasn't for the subject, I knew something was off. Bella had always spoke about Irina the few times I called her, and she always mentioned her in her emails. But it was only once that I had heard about her tonight, and that was it.

When we got to my car, Bella appraised my choice. "Porsche, 911 turbo," she said quietly. "Very, very nice." She let her finger tips run atop the glossy black paint. I smiled at her as I put her luggage in the trunk and walked to open her door. Once we were both in, I started the car and pulled out, driving to the quickest route home.

The good thing about my relationship with Bella was that it never had to be filled with talk all the time. We were comfortable in silence, and it was never awkward.

In no time, we had reached my lavish townhouse. It was a little bigger than I kind of liked, considering it was just me living in it. But it was in a really nice neighborhood that was closest to everything. I parked my car in the garage and walked over to Bella's door, helping her out of the car. I helped her with her things and led the way through the garage and up into the house.

"Wow, it's so big and nice," she said, looking around the entire house and taking in the various soft tones. While it was true my house was nicely decorated, I had to give credit to Alice for that.

"Alice has a career in design so I kind of had no choice when she realized how 'poorly decorated' my house was before. Her words, not mine," I said, setting her photo by the wall, as Bella chuckled quietly. I took off my shoes and unbuttoned my jacket, hanging it into the closet. I turned back around to see Bella taking off her heels, and letting down her hair.

I stifled a gasp as I watched her hair cascade down her back. Her cheeks were flushed with life and she wore a smile brighter than the moon. I could feel my heart skipping as I stared at the creature in front of me.

As we gazed into one another's eyes, there was a change of electricity in the air. Where we were used to comfortable and happy, it shifted into want and a tension so pleasurable that was slowly building between us. My breath got shallower, hands clammier, and I watched as she bit her lip and her eyes darken slightly. And for a moment, I really believed that Bella was feeling the same thing I was feeling for her.

The ever wanting need to kiss her was growing inside me, and I began taking small, tentative steps towards her. As I stood in front of her now, I looked down into her beautiful eyes, positive that she was feeling the same thing.

As I slowly began to lower my head to her face, she said five words that made me stop.

"Irina and I broke up."

The fuck?

* * *

><p><strong>An: **Yes, well… That went nicely. Anyways, going to keep this note nice and sweet. I can already tell this story is going to play out and progress very nicely. I'd like to say that (by what I know), the picture I was describing of Bella does not exist, and the title and the theory on curves was based off of what Pudge was saying about Alaska in John Green's _Looking for Alaska. _How there's an importance to curves.

"_It was right then, between when I asked about the labyrinth and when she answered me, that I realized the importance of curves, of the thousand places where girls' bodies ease from one place to another. From arc to the foot, to the ankle to calf, from calf to hip, to waist to breast, to neck to ski-slope nose, to forehead to shoulder, to the concave arch of the back to the butt, to the etc. I'd notice curves before, of course, but I had never quite apprehended their significance." – Looking for Alaska, John Green. _

I totally recommend the book, of course. It was like a piece of art. Anyways, leave me a tad bit of love, if you will? While I am writing for my own enjoyment, it'd be nice to hear more feed back (: Until next time, sweets!


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